The Feelies Finally Reissued

Back in 1980, New Jersey postpunk originators the Feelies dropped Crazy Rhythms, their classic debut. Crazy Rhythms was a short, sharp shock of spiky guitars and sidelong grooves, the sort of album destined to become an influential but underappreciated relic, which is exactly what happened. You can hear bits and pieces of Crazy Rhythms all over American indie rock from the 1980s, especially in the first few R.E.M. albums, but the band's history was plagued by commercial failure and frequent breakups. The LP has been out of print forever.

That's about to change. The Feelies are back together now, playing shows when they feel like it. And on September 8, Crazy Rhythms and the band's 1986 sophomore effort The Good Earth will finally be reissued. The reissues will be out on Bar None in the U.S. and Canada and Domino everywhere else. Both remastered albums will be available on CD and 180 gram vinyl, and both will come with bonus tracks.

But there's a twist. The Feelies didn't want to mess with the original documents at all, so the bonus tracks don't appear on the physical versions of the reissued albums. They will be available only digitally; the CD and LP versions of the reissues will come with download cards containing access to the full albums plus bonus tracks. The Feelies have also gone so far as to omit their cover of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black", which was added by the band's old label, A&M, to an earlier reissue of Crazy Rhythms against the band's wishes.